Sunday, August 21, 2011

Banana Fritter served with Sambal Roa

It was a public holiday!
Lazy morning... woke up late, no special plan for that day.
After got back from the market, while waiting for my husband and son returning from the car workshop, I was thinking it would be good to have something to enjoy for morning snack.

Ah.. .then I remembered somethings that make my eyes open bigger, my heart jumps faster and put a big smile in my face...
I remembered about a jar of 'Sambal Roa' still sitting down nicely in our fridge (brought by a friend of my husband from Manado, North Sulawesi), I remembered that many times I heard, I read, I watched how people in Manado enjoy the banana fritters with Sambal Roa, and I remembered I still keep the recipe pamphlet of 'Pisang Goreng Manado' that is served with Sambal Roa in my recipe box. Perfect!! My smile was getting bigger.

This is the perfect time to try this famous unusual combination.
With the simple 0ne-two-three steps, the snack was ready on the table. Warm, delicious, unique... clever combination.

For you who have no idea what Sambal Roa is, let me explain;
Sambal is a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. Ikan Roa (Roa Fish) is smoked fish that is made from ikan terbang/garfish which can be found only in North Sulawesi water. So, this famous Sambal Roa is a chili based sauce that made by stir fry the chillies, tomatos, garlic, salt, pepper and Ikan Roa. Sound delicious, right! Chilli Sauce with the smoky fish flavour. Yum!

Method:1. Stir the rice flour, corn starch, and salt evenly. Pour the water, stirring until blended.
2. Dip the bananas into flour batter, deep fry in oil and heat until get cooked and the color become golden brown. Remove and drain.
3. Served with Sambal Roa.

Sunday, August 07, 2011

Empal Gentong & Tahu Gejrot

As I wrote in my last posting, both of this food have given a beautiful memory after our trip to Cirebon. My daughter really likes the Empal Gentong, and my son likes the tahu gejrot that is served only with the sauce (without chilli and shallots). Anyway, at home he is known as the tofu lover.

I tried both of these recipes more than a month ago, just a couple of days after we came from our trip to Cirebon. I got the recipes from 'Primarasa-Yang Lezat dari Cirebon-Semarang' (Primarasa-Delicacies from Cirebon-Semarang).

Empal Gentong.When we tried the first couple of spoons of this food in Cirebon, my husband and I began to recognize the special flavor inside the bowl, and yup,... we're agree that there is strong gulai flavor hidden in the soup. As the name 'empal' refer to beef, and the 'gentong' refer to the 'clay pot', this traditional beef soup is cooked inside the big clay pot and using firewood, both are believed giving special aromatic flavor to the dish.

When I cooked at home, hmmm... I just used my daily pan and gas stove. I added 1 teaspoon gulai powder to find the flavor that is similar with the dish that we tried in Cirebon. We are happy with the result, delicious - tasty beef soup.

1. Boil the meat in water together with the bay leaves, galangal, lemongrass, and salt until tender. Lift, remove the meat from the water. Measure the stock about +/- 1250 ml.2. Cut the beef into pieces the size of 1x2 cm. Add the beef to the pan gravy. Heat again the stock with the meat.3. Heat oil on a skillet, saute ground spices. Add the cinnamon stick and cloves, stirring, until fragrant and cooked, remove from heat. Put a stir-fry seasoning stock to the pan, stirring. Pour the coconut milk, cook until boiling, stir occassionally to prevent the coconut milk from curdling., remove from heat.4. Transfer the dish into a serving bowl, sprinkled with chives and fried onions. Serve while warm with chili powder.

**********

Tahu Gejrot.Just to remind you again, as I wrote in my previous posting; Tahu Gejrot is crisp-fried tofu bathed in a thin, dark sauce flavored with green chili and shallots. A popular street food and getting famous in our country. Super easy to make with the delicious exotic unique flavor.

The main point is using a right type of tofu for the perfect result. From the book that I got this recipe recomends to use 'tahu pong', that when it's fried, it'll be bubbled, the size will be double, the inside part is hollow and have dry thin skin. After all, it has a beautiful perfect texture to absorb the seasoning sauce to enjoy together with the crushed seasoning (crushed chilli and shallots). All are combined that make a nice harmony of the flavor.

1. Cut the tofu into dice-shaped 2 cm. Heat lots of cooking oil in a skillet, fry until browned and cooked out, remove, drain and set aside.2.Seasoning sauce: Place the brown sugar and water in saucepan. Heat until boiling and sugar dissolves. Add tamarind water and salt, stir, remove from heat. Strain and set aside.3.Seasoning (crushed) : Crush the garlic until smooth, add the shallots, chilies and salt, coarse crush. Pour the soy sauce and stir well.4.Serving : Put the tofu in a plate or a mortar, tap-tap to split *, then pour the seasoning sauce. Add the crushed seasoning. Serve immediately.